I am the mother of an incredibly funny, yet wild, two year old daughter (Soph) and a sweet, yet ravenous, baby girl (Oli). I've lived in the DC Metro area for 10 of the past 12 years, however for the bulk of my time in the area I was single and, well, my single, pre-baby DC life was much different than my life now. Shocking, I know. Once upon a time I was Premier Executive 100k, I observed elections abroad, stayed in amazing hotels, and wore cool clothes. (Ok, fine, there were a lot of crappy parts to my job as well--but this is my blog and for the purpose of nostalgia I'm only going to highlight the awesome parts). Now I wear yoga pants and jeans almost exclusively and spend my days begging my daughter to stop running away whilst I'm mid-diaper change.
After a brief two year stint in PA, my husband and I returned to VA in the summer of 2008. By then most of my close married friends had moved away and my family was back in PA. Despite knowing the area and knowing exactly what we wanted, our two years in PA had made us soft and we forgot how crazy and (occasionally nasty) the DC metro housing market could be. So even though we sold our house in PA in less than a month, it took us several months and nearly a half dozen failed bids to land a house in Alexandria. As if that didn't suck enough, we had to move out of our house and into a glorified efficiency for three months until we could get into our new place. My husband, my cat, my enormous self, and half our belongings shoved into 700 sq feet. To boot, we moved into our house exactly one month before Sophie was born and I didn't have a chance to really get settled or make friends in my neighborhood. The lack of a local support system might have been the toughest part. I felt alone and lost those first few months after Sophie was born. If not for a few friends in the area (and some in PA) whom I called/emailed constantly early on, I don't know how I would've gotten through my postpartum doldrums with baby #1.
Why this blog? My return to the area helped me see just how transitional this area is and how difficult it can be for newcomers, especially new moms and expecting moms. I at least knew my way around and had friends in the area -- I just lacked "mommy" resources. So now that I have built up my mommy toolbox and am going through this all over again, I'd like to provide whatever assistance I can to moms new to Northern Va (NOVA) and new moms in NOVA. Consider me your virtual girlfriend.
(9/2010) Ok, I just recently had baby #2 and can't stress enough the importance of finding a good neighborhood and mom's group when you move into the area. I have an amazing group of friends and neighbors who not only served as a wonderful support system, but kept us fed for nearly a month after Oli was born! I credit them and my mom (as well as DH) with helping me keep my sanity those first few weeks! Night and day from the first time round!
Questions? Comments? Topics you want me to research? Feel free to e-mail me at momblogva@gmail.com
Questions? Comments? Topics you want me to research? Feel free to e-mail me at momblogva@gmail.com
